1. The Chic Organisation/Nile Rogers2. Brian Eno3. George Martin4. Kate Bush5. Trevor Horn6. Phil Spector7. Tony Visconti8. Lindsey Buckingham9. Chris Blackwell10. Daft Punk11. Dallas Austin12. Harvey Fuqua13.Chris Thomas14. Andy Johns15. Timbaland16. The Dust Brothers17. John Leckie18. Arthur Baker19. The Neptunes20. Jimmy Miller
I hadn't expected you to go all the way to #1, Shakey, or I'd've hung around a bit longer last night. Anyway great idea, I've learned quite a lot, and thanks a bunch for doing it.
xp I don't see how this can be disappointing if you can't get to 20 yourself. I thought it was great. I mean, who are the raft of innovators who are missing out? Also, craftsmen totally belong - there are enough flat and muddy rock records around to see that Chris Thomas brings a lot to his.
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 21 October 2011 06:35 (twelve years ago) link
Here's my ballot, bolded the ones that made it to the top 50:
1. Patrick Cowley2. Larry Levan3. Boris Blank4. Juan Atkins5. Shep Pettibone6. Pole (aka Stefan Betke)7. Arthur Baker8. Giorgio Moroder9. Meshell Ndegeocello10. Carl Craig11. Burnt Friedman12. Roopek (aka Roope Kinnunen)13. Marley Marl14. Teo Macero15. Prince16. Creed Taylor17. Swizz Beatz18. Ben Liebrand19. Da Beatminerz20. 4 Hero
I voted solely based on personal taste, not historical importance... So I didn't include people like Spector, as I haven't heard that many of his productions, and on the ones I've heard, the sound hasn't really impressed me that much.
Was surprised that none of the OG disco producers/remixers (Levan, Moulton, Cowley, etc) made it to the top 50. What they did to recorded sound was just as revolutionary as what Spector, Tubby, Macero et al did. Okay, Moroder made it to the top 10, which is great, but his thing (minimizing dance music to a synth groove) was bit different from what Levan & Moulton & co did. They basically (alongside Jamaican dubsters, of course) invented the remix.
Another surprise was that Arthur Baker didn't make it! I thought producing "Planet Rock" alone (not to mention his other electro productions and remixes) would've guaranteed him a spot. As for 80s synth pop, I find it sad Boris Blanks isn't regarded as high as he should be. Stuff he did 25-30 years ago still sounds mad innovative today, and less dated than Trevor Horn's (who I also love) production. I guess the problem is that Blank never did much work outside Yello, and Yello was always too eccentric to make a big breakthrough.
― Tuomas, Friday, 21 October 2011 07:24 (twelve years ago) link
unlike a lot (all?) of the other douchebags on here, Phil never made a bad-sounding record
Even Paul said his "Let it be" did not sound "bad", but he did hate the end product for the production 'result'...
― Mark G, Friday, 21 October 2011 09:10 (twelve years ago) link
My ballot:
1 Joe Meek2 Lee Perry3 Martin Hannett4 Brian Eno5 Steve Albini6 Shadow Morton7 Willie Mitchell8 Kevin Shields9 Chris Thomas10 John Cale11 Timbaland12 Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards13 Trevor Horn14 Phil Spector15 Sam Phillips16 Dave Fridmann17 Xenomania18 Conny Plank19 Dr Dre20 Brian Wilson
― you don't exist in the database (woof), Friday, 21 October 2011 09:20 (twelve years ago) link
1. Chic Organization2. George Martin3. Trevor Horn4. Brian Eno5. Joe Meek6. Tony Visconti7. Phil Spector8. Timbaland9. Giorgio Moroder10. Lee 'Scratch' Perry11. Martin Rushent12. Martin Hannett13. Chips Moman14. Gamble and Huff15. Chris Thomas16. Rick Rubin17. Arif Mardin18. Bomb Squad19. Vince Clarke20. Sly and Robbie
Don't know how I managed to forget the RZA, should have squeezed him in somewhere. Still shaking my head at the dismissal of 'Slave to the Rythm', the pinnacle of Horn's fairlight era imo.
― The multi-talented F.R. David (Billy Dods), Friday, 21 October 2011 09:32 (twelve years ago) link
My ballot, slightly thrown together, and there are names I would perhaps include as a result of the rundown:
1. King Tubby2. Martin Hannett3. Arthur Baker4. RZA5. George Martin6. Steve Albini7. Dr Dre8. Joe Meek9. Rick Rubin10. Phil Spector11. Conny Plank12. Lee Perry13. Juan Atkins14. Richard D. James15. Brian Eno16. Tony Visconti17. Derrick May18. Pete Rock19. Bomb Squad20. Quincy Jones
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Friday, 21 October 2011 09:40 (twelve years ago) link
Has anybody lobbied for Mike Chapman?
I don't think I did, but I considered him for Rapture. That 'bell' sound is one of my favourite production tricks (see also Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Tears Dry On Their Own). What is it? A really loud xylophone?
I asked this just before the outage, was hoping for an explanation because I love those intros. I suspect it might be a 'rounded' Rhodes piano sound?
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 21 October 2011 09:55 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.gipercussion.co.uk/Premier%20bells.jpg
― Mark G, Friday, 21 October 2011 10:02 (twelve years ago) link
miserable auteur in Archway
Oi! (Mid) Holloway Road! Fuck yer Archways!
― Juice Should Be Sterliized (Tom D.), Friday, 21 October 2011 11:39 (twelve years ago) link
Didn't vote in this, wish I had now. Perry vs. Plank for me... off the top of my head, it'd probably change if I thought more about it.
― Juice Should Be Sterliized (Tom D.), Friday, 21 October 2011 11:41 (twelve years ago) link
Actually Holger Czukay might have been my No. 1. Or Pierre Schaeffer.
― Juice Should Be Sterliized (Tom D.), Friday, 21 October 2011 11:43 (twelve years ago) link
oh shit how did i forget arthur baker?
― Ravaging Rick Rude (a hoy hoy), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:03 (twelve years ago) link
Don Was
Producer credits: the B-52's, Iggy Pop, Paul Westerberg, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Ziggy Marley, Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Michelle Shocked, Lucinda Williams, others
Impressive CV for someone who seems not to have received even one vote!
― Everything else is secondary (Lee626), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:25 (twelve years ago) link
roy thomas baker in only one ballot & no jon landau is kinda surprising
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:27 (twelve years ago) link
or bob thiele or george avakian
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:28 (twelve years ago) link
curtis mayfield, isaac hayes, I think those guys have legit claims to top 20 production styles
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:31 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't vote in this (I never do!), but these popular people would have got my votes if I had:
Steve AlbiniGeorge MartinBrian EnoQuincy JonesHolger CzukayKate BushTimbalandThe Neptunes
I was surprised to see none of these mentioned at all:
Jim O’RourkeJames MurphyAndrew WeatherallChas ChandlerFloodCurtis MayfieldFela KutiJohn McIntyre
And I probably would have voted, or seriously considered voting for, several of these:
Mark Hollis / Tim Friese-Green / Phill BrownGraham SuttonPhil and Paul Hartnoll / Dan Snaith / Kieran Hebden / other electronic dudes who’ve never really produced anyone elseEthan JohnsJamie Watson (Long Fin Killie)Brian Deck (Califone)Guy Stevens
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 21 October 2011 13:48 (twelve years ago) link
thanks for this Shakey. couldn't bring myself to vote, sorry - I'm sure I could name 20 favourite producers/engineers but ranking them is another story.
nonetheless really enjoyed the rundown. tie between Premier and Visconti the highlight for reasons I can't quite verbalise
― Volvo Twilight (p-dog), Friday, 21 October 2011 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
complete absence of women from the list is pretty mad, not gonna blame the voters for that one tho
if you squint a bit, Eno at least looks like a woman in that pic
― Everything else is secondary (Lee626), Friday, 21 October 2011 14:17 (twelve years ago) link
yeah - this is a "man's world" type of profession, for the most part, and the deeply entrenched sexism of the industry has kept it that way for decades
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 15:21 (twelve years ago) link
I mean apart from Kate Bush (who received a couple votes) and Joan Jett I"m at a loss for big names
Roy Thomas Baker was on 2 ballots. those other guys didn't get any votes.
suppose things might have been different if you had voted tho lol
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 15:23 (twelve years ago) link
all those people are great/have done great things, but none of those great things involved Don Was. I guess Cosmic Thing sounds pretty good...
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 15:24 (twelve years ago) link
my kinda strange, highly subjective ballot was:
TimbalandThe DFA (was I really the only one?)The NeptunesYasutaka NakataSteve AlbiniNoonJimmy PageMaciej CieślakDaft PunkBloodshy & AvantAutechreGreg KurstinDave FridmannPhil SpectorPhil EkDanjaMax MartinDr LukeTodd EdwardsDon Zientara
I purposely tossed the historical importance to hell in favour of choosing at-the-moment personal favs.
― V79, Friday, 21 October 2011 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
Arthur Baker got 3 votes, 70 points
xp
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 15:27 (twelve years ago) link
>> Impressive CV for someone who seems not to have received even one vote!
> all those people are great/have done great things, but none of those great things involved Don Was. I guess Cosmic Thing sounds pretty good...
I was aware of that (of course!).... it looks far more impressive than it is, because everyone on that list was long past their prime (save for the B-52's and Bonnie Raitt), which is no doubt why he was ignored here. He's also another of those producers that intentionally stays out of the way and just records what the band plays, kind of like Albini except that he won't throw a fit if you call him a producer. But not having a signature production sound like that of, say, Trevor Horn makes it even easier to forget he's there at all.
― Everything else is secondary (Lee626), Friday, 21 October 2011 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
I know, I like discussing these stuff but putting a ballot together is the sort of thing that's like I'm not against doing it but it would take me a couple years and if I threw one together just to be in the poll well that'd be exactly what I never liked about polls but that's not on the poll that's just me
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
so for you, participating in a poll is like voting for a Democrat
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 17:47 (twelve years ago) link
yes
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 17:54 (twelve years ago) link
except that I end up voting for the Democrat because what the fuck why not whereas putting together a list of who I actually feel are the best producers would be an exercise I'd take seriously
― pathos of the unwarranted encore (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, 21 October 2011 17:55 (twelve years ago) link
Shakey, got a full list of the voting for posting or linking?
― Martyr McFly (WmC), Friday, 21 October 2011 17:57 (twelve years ago) link
Phil Spector 664Brian Eno 562Timbaland 493George Martin 455Lee Perry 355RZA 348Conny Plank 306The Bomb Squad 287Giorgio Moroder 278Chic Organisation 275Dr. Dre 254Brian Wilson 248Steve Albini 247Martin Hannett 246Joe Meek 245Tony Visconti 242DJ Premier 242King Tubby 239Trevor Horn 226Teo Macero 207Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis 180rudy van gelder 176The Neptunes 172Rick Rubin 168Holland/Dozier/Holland 165Tom Dowd 141Willie Mitchell 140Jimmy Page 139George Clinton 136Martin Rushent 134Thom Bell 131Tom Wilson 124Les Paul 122Pete Rock 118Chris Thomas 117Prince 115John Leckie 110Geoff Emerick 109Todd Rundgren 101Joe Boyd 98Marley Marl 96Norman Whitfield 95Jimmy Miller 95Gary Katz 94Xenomania 94David Briggs 91swizz beatz 89The Dust Brothers 88Glyn Johns 87Prince Paul 86Carl Craig 85DJ Quik 83mutt lange 82Allen Toussaint 82The Dream 77Bloodshy & Avant 76Kanye West 74Daft Punk 73Stephen Hague 71Arthur Baker 70Gamble and Huff 69Shel Talmy 68Max Martin 68Mike Thorne 68George "Shadow" Morton 67Sam Phillips 67Juan Atkins 65Neptunes 64Frankie Knuckles/Def Mix 63Geoff Barrow 62David Axelrod 62Mannie Fresh 61Lindsey Buckingham 59Dr. Luke 58Kate Bush 57Danja 57Nigel Godrich 53John Cale 53Eddie Kramer 52Ricardo Villalobos 52Basic Channel 51Dave Fridmann 51Andy Johns 50Just Blaze 47sly stone 46Smokey Robinson 44Norman Smith 43Organized Noize 42Creed Taylor 42Jack Endino 41Arthur Russell 41Richard D. James 40Daniel Lanois 40Patrick Cowley 40R. Kelly 40Kevin Shields 39Frank Zappa 38The DFA 36quincy jones 36Jason Pierce 36Larry Levan 36Adrian Sherwood 36Large Professor 35Cosimo Matassa 33derrick may 33Nick Lowe 33Masters at Work 33Louis Barron 33J Dilla 33Babyface 33Boris Blank 33Phil Elverum 33Mike Chapman 31Steven Stapleton 30Yasutaka Nakata 30Tommy Wright III 30Alan Lomax 30Ted Templeman 30Madlib 30Leiber/Stoller 28Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley 28Don Zientara 27Wiley 27Andy Wallace 27Shep Pettibone 27Dj Skrew 27Bumps Blackwell 25Noon 25Wolfgang Voight 25Roger Moutenot 25Easy Mo Bee 25Terry Melcher 25Pole (aka Stefan Betke) 25Jean-Pierre Massiera 24ewan pearson 24Frank Wilson 24KLC 24Michael B. Tretow 24The Beatnuts 23Maciej Cieślak 23Chaz Jankel 23Psycho Les 23Carl Davis 23dave jerden 23James Brown 23Roy Thomas Baker 23Chris Desjardins 23Burt Bacharach & Hal David 23Meshell Ndegeocello 22Trent Reznor 22Chris Blackwell 22Andrew Loog Oldham 22Tricky 21Huey P. Meaux 21Nesuhi Ertegun 21Kurt Graupner 21Hugh Jones 21Gary Kellgren 21Ant Banks 21Jerry Wexler 20Autechre 20Leslie Kong 20Rick Jarrard 20tom middleton 20Burnt Friedman 20Dallas Austin 20Diamond D 20stock-aitken-waterman 20Patrick Adams 19Hugh Padgham 19Thomas Dolby 19Greg Kurstin 19Richie Hawtin 19Roopek (aka Roope Kinnunen) 19Al Schmitt 19Butch Vig 19Teddy Riley 19Sasu Ripatti 19Harvey Fuqua 19Wharton Tiers 18Rod Stewart 18Don Fleming 18kevin saunderson 18Chips Moman 18Dennis Bovell 18Mitch Easter 18Stuart Price 17stargate 17rob playford 17Mad Professor 17Paul Savage 16Phil Ek 16Mitchell Froom 16RedOne 16Steve Lillywhite 16Jeremy Harding 16DJ Toomp 16Steve Gurley 15Dave Hassinger 15 Tony Visconti 15Dan Lissvik 15Isaac Hayes/David Porter 15Owen Bradley 15rodney jerkins 14Frank Davis 14Arif Mardin 14maurizio 14Chinn-Chapman 13cajmere 13Norman Petty 13?uestlove 13Jon Brion 13Flood 13Ben Liebrand 13Daz Dillinger 13Ryan Leslie 13rich harrison 13Vince Clarke 12Joe Gibbs 12Todd Edwards 12Cowboy Jack Clement 12Bangladesh 12Da Beatminerz 12E-Swift 12Jim O'Rourke 12she'kspere 12Terror Danjah 11Lil' Jon 114 Hero 11Dangermouse 11Giovanni Bonadrini 11Sly and Robbie 11lyndsey buckingham 11Klaus Schulze 11
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:13 (twelve years ago) link
Tony Visconti seems to be there twice! So I guess he didn't tie with DJ Premier after all
― Volvo Twilight (p-dog), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:20 (twelve years ago) link
hmmm you're right, that's weird
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:22 (twelve years ago) link
Allen Touissant just missed the cut! Injustice!
― Melle Mel and the Coconuts (thewufs), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:22 (twelve years ago) link
Toussaint, I mean
― Melle Mel and the Coconuts (thewufs), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
xxxpostAs is Lindsey Buckingham.
― The multi-talented F.R. David (Billy Dods), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:23 (twelve years ago) link
Before the results were even posted, I started to think there oughta be a follow-up poll excluding every name that made the top 50. I mean, every record producer ever is kind of too huge to be narrowed down to one canonical list, which only becomes more obvious when you see some of the names that fell short here.
Very cool poll, though. Thanks for doing this, Shakey.
― Melle Mel and the Coconuts (thewufs), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:26 (twelve years ago) link
Neptunes *and* The Neptunes?
― V79, Friday, 21 October 2011 18:32 (twelve years ago) link
man I went through this list multiple times (pretty much after every ballot came in) to check for duplicates/vote splitting and I STILL fucked this up arggh
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
I guess the Neptunes would have placed a bit higher then... Lindsey Buckingham still wouldn't have made the cut tho
― unorthodox economic revenge (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 21 October 2011 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/sites/tampabay.com.blogs.the-buzz-florida-politics/files/images/typepad-legacy-files/88533.recount.jpg
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 21 October 2011 20:19 (twelve years ago) link
female producers i would have considered voting for: anjali dutt, jessica corcoran
― ballarat organ quartet (electricsound), Friday, 21 October 2011 23:34 (twelve years ago) link
Damn, knew I shoulda checked ILM's status on Wednesday rather than risk missing the live results rollout! Oh well, here's my pedestrian ballot:
1.George Martin2.Rudy Van Gelder3.Jimmy Page4.Norman Whitfield5.Jimmy Miller6.Giorgio Moroder7.George Clinton8.Todd Rundgren9.Tom Dowd10.Nesuhi Ertegun11.The Bomb Squad12.Brian Eno13.Holland/Dozier/Holland14.Jack Endino15.Tom Wilson16.Frank Zappa17.Steve Albini18.Rick Rubin19.Martin Rushent20.Eddie Kramer
I probably wouldn't have voted at all had Shakey Mo not lamented the mere trickle of ballots as deadline approached. My main criteria for inclusion was simply that I loved these guys' sound; that's the rationale behind maybe 15 of these choices; George Martin, Eno, Ertegun and the two Toms have extramusical reasons for inclusion. And a final thanks to Shakey Mo for his time & effort (more than he could've expected obv)
― Race Against Rockism (Myonga Vön Bontee), Saturday, 22 October 2011 07:16 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't vote but would probably have thrown Chapman a vote for Parallel Lines and Eat to the Beat alone
(and I don't really listen to much glam rock and appreciate that Chinnichap became a byword for canned and formulaic but that is a pretty amazingly SHINY sound right there)
anyway I am glad to see Plank do well and have a few new names to check out as a result of this poll and people's ballots
― how do i shot slime mould voltron form (a passing spacecadet), Saturday, 22 October 2011 10:45 (twelve years ago) link
so yeah, thanks Shakey!
maurizio and Basic Channel the same thing, yes?
― kraudive, Sunday, 23 October 2011 12:54 (twelve years ago) link
still wouldn't make it into the top 50 though
― kraudive, Sunday, 23 October 2011 12:55 (twelve years ago) link
So, hold on, absolutely nobody voted for Holger Czukay?
― Juice Should Be Sterliized (Tom D.), Sunday, 23 October 2011 13:30 (twelve years ago) link